


nearly falling

by whimsicott



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, Post-NRC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:33:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27379513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsicott/pseuds/whimsicott
Summary: Ten years ago, Cater kissed Riddle on the night of his graduation. Now, Cater is moving to Rose Kingdom and Riddle wants nothing more than to move on.
Relationships: Cater Diamond/Riddle Rosehearts
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37





	nearly falling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [twstriddle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/twstriddle/gifts).



> This is a birthday present for [twstcater](https://twitter.com/twstcater), as requested by their friend [twstriddle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/twstriddle)! Happy birthday and I hope you'd have a wonderful year!

“I can’t believe I’m finally free tomorrow!” 

Cater exclaims with a stretch of his arms. He’s wearing a huge smile on his face, visible under the full moon over the Heartslabyul dormitory. They just had a farewell party for the graduating fourth years that evening, and after assigning the second and first years to clean up, Riddle found himself by Cater’s side, sitting together in the garden that they’ve grown so familiar with over their years in Night Raven College.

“Free, huh?” Riddle chuckles. “Was I that bad as a dorm head?”

“At the beginning, you really were,” Cater says with a grin. “If it wasn’t so troublesome getting the dorm head seat back, I would’ve considered it.”

“You wouldn’t,” Riddle says with a cocky smile. He knows full well that Cater isn’t that attached to the seat of dorm head. Definitely not attached enough to challenge Riddle over it and deal with Riddle’s unique magic. After all, the fight that took place for Riddle to take over the dorm head’s seat lasted no longer than a few minutes, with Cater giving up and telling Riddle he could have it if he wanted it that badly.

In the past three years, Cater had been supportive of Riddle’s tenure as dorm head; something Riddle appreciates even if he doesn’t quite say it out loud. 

“You’re a much better Heartslabyul dorm head than I was,” Cater says with a wry smile. “I would not be able to memorize all six-hundred something rules, never mind uphold them.”

Riddle huffs at this. He can’t believe it’s been four years and Cater still hasn’t memorized the rules. If Cater put the same amount of effort into memorizing rules as he does on his magicame account, he would be able to remember them for sure.

“C’mon, don’t huff,” Cater teases, poking Riddle’s side with his elbow. “I barely break them, right?”

“Your grades are so often in the red,” Riddle’s grumble. “But other than that, yes, you follow the rules. Somehow.”

“Somehow,” Cater grins. “And somehow, I’m graduating despite all those red grades.”

“Barely,” Riddle says while crossing his arms. “Still, I’m amazed.”

“Amazed?” Cater exclaims. But this is accompanied by a laugh that shows that he is not at all offended by Riddle’s remark. He’s been learning from Riddle since Riddle was a second year and he was in his third year. Despite complaining through his studies, Cater had brought back each and every test he passed with Riddle’s help with a triumphant smile and a ‘v’-sign. 

And now, that’s all coming to an end. Riddle himself will be a fourth year next year and he’ll have no more upperclassmen, never mind one that needs tutoring from him. He might still help out his underclassmen, sure, but it’s not going to be quite the same. 

There’s a part of him that feels lonely at the idea of a Heartslabyul without Cater and Trey. They have been there since Riddle entered Night Raven College, after all, and in their own ways, they have been there for Riddle in the past three years.

“I was wondering if you’d repeat a year,” Riddle says with a sly smile. “Wouldn’t be half-bad having you serve me tea for another year.”

“Please, spare me,” Cater shakes his head with a small laugh. Then, he looks earnestly towards Riddle, a rare soft smile on his face. “But really, I’m glad you were the dorm head for my time here at Night Raven College.”

Cater looks up to the sky above them and stretches his arms.

“You’ll be fine next year.”

“Hmph,” Riddle crosses his arms. “I know.”

Cater turns to him, still looking soft. It’s the moonlight, Riddle reasons to himself. It’s the melancholy of leaving their dorm. It’s Riddle’s mind, casting that soft shadow on Cater’s expression because Cater will be gone tomorrow and Riddle will be in his final year of Night Raven College starting next year.

But then Cater leans in, his lips soft over Riddle’s own. 

For a moment, Riddle leans into the kiss, tilting his head as he feels Cater’s lips on his own. For a while, Riddle wants to stay there. But his heart is beating loud in his chest, his body moving against his will, flushed, hot and pushing Cater away. 

“Riddle,” Cater starts, but Riddle finds himself shaking his head. He isn’t sure why he’s reacting this way. All he knows is that his body is moving out of his control, getting up and running away without looking back at Cater. He can’t hear anything but the loud beating of his own heart, can’t feel anything but the hot flush of his own cheeks. He pushes past some other students to make his way back into the dorm and into his own room.

And only when he closes the door behind him, does Riddle finally feel like he can breathe.

In the last three years, whenever he feels his heart skip a beat for Cater, whenever he feels affection that surpasses simple friendship, he always shut it down. He has to concentrate on his studies, he has no time for a relationship, he’s always been able to come up with some sort of excuse to not act on his feelings. He always has a reason, one just for himself, to not show his feelings to anyone. Especially not to Cater. 

Does Cater know? Does Cater like him back? Did Cater mean to kiss him? Panic washes over Riddle as he leans back against his door. His knees feel weak as he sinks down, falling to the floor. He was not ready for that kiss. He is not ready to confront his feelings for Cater who’s leaving Heartslabyul tomorrow. 

But he has to, he realizes. Tomorrow, he will have to be there at Cater’s graduation. He’s the dorm head after all, and his absence would be obvious.

Riddle takes a deep breath. It will be okay. They will sort this out tomorrow. He will know tomorrow, what Cater truly means.

“Luna has fleas,” Riddle says as he brushes through the cat’s fur. The short-haired tabby is purring affectionately as he checks her skin, making his job all that much easier without her struggling. He plucks out a flea from the cat’s fur. He waves his free hand to pick up a tiny jar from the counter nearby. Then, he places the flea inside of it. He tilts the bottle towards himself to study it. “Just a common flea. I can give her some drops and she will be fine. It’ll kill any fleas that try to climb on her for a while, too, but I would suggest changing your sheets and vacuuming any soft furnitures you have, just in case.”

Luna’s owner, whose name Riddle doesn’t quite remember because he remembers the pets’ names more than their owners’, sighs in relief. Luna is the only cat this young woman has, and she’s worried over little things. This time, she’s worried about red marks and scabs on Luna.

“Do I need to give her a flea bath?” she asks, the worry obvious on her face.

“No, the drops should handle it,” Riddle answers with a reassuring smile. If Riddle were to use his cat language lessons from his days at Night Raven College, he’s sure that Luna would be happy that he’s not assigning her a bath. 

He picks up the flea medication, carefully inserting it in the dropper. Then, he places a couple of drops on Luna’s neck.

“There we go,” he says. “Just don’t touch it until it dries, and she should be okay.”

“Are you sure there are no other reasons behind her scabs?”

“It’s usually a case of fleas,” Riddle explains with a patient smile. It has been three years since he started his own veterinary practice. And since then, he’s grown used to dealing with worried pet parents, something they didn’t quite teach him at veterinary school. At the beginning, Riddle would sometimes lose his temper, something that surprised none of his friends. But these days, he’s better at his job and the practice is performing better because of it.

Besides, he also has a reliable assistant-slash-receptionist to handle difficult pet owners, one who’s much better with people than him. 

He glances through the window to see Ace Trappola. Once his junior at Night Raven College, Ace applied for a job at Riddle’s veterinary practice just a few months after Riddle opened. And with his strong memorization skills, allowing him to talk to their animal patients, as well as his excellent people skills, Ace has grown to be an invaluable member to Rosehearts Veterinary. Riddle keeps raising his pay in hope he would stay, and Ace has shown no signs of planning to leave.

“While I’m here, please do a check up on her,” Luna’s owner says. 

“Alright,” Riddle says. Still with a smile, even if he can feel his lips twitching slightly in displeasure. He bends down until he’s eye-to-eye with the cat, stroking her head as she purrs. Then, he asks in cat language, “are you hurt anywhere else?”

The cat meows a ‘no’. 

He then feels the cat’s body, checking areas such as the bladder to ensure everything is alright. The cat shows no reaction other than minor discomfort.

“She’s fine,” he tells Luna’s owner once more. “But as I said, do change the sheets in your home and vacuum thoroughly to make sure the fleas are gone.”

“Alright,” she says softly, conceding to Riddle’s judgement. 

“You can bring her here again if the problem persists,” Riddle assures.

This seems to satisfy Luna’s owner, who nods at Riddle’s instructions. Riddle then helps put Luna back into her carrier, a backpack with a half-sphere window looking out. The cat seems more displeased by this than anything Riddle has done in the twenty-minute session.

Riddle knocks on the spherical window gently.

“You’re going home, Luna,” he says in cat language. “Hang in there.”

“What did you say to her?” Luna’s owner asks.

“To be good,” Riddle says. 

“Maybe I should learn cat,” she replies. “They don’t teach animal language at my school. You went to NRC, didn’t you, Doctor Rosehearts?”

“I did,” Riddle answers.

In fact, his Night Raven College diploma hangs on his wall, together with his veterinary school one. Somehow, having the Night Raven College diploma there makes his patients rely on him more. His veterinary school is the best all the kingdoms have to offer, too, because Riddle wouldn’t settle for anything but the best; but it’s always Night Raven College that people recognize first. 

He writes up the procedure of the day then hands it to Luna’s owner.

“Payment will be up front, with our receptionist.”

“As usual, then,” she says with a smile. “Thank you, Doctor Rosehearts.”

“I’ll always be here if you need me,” Riddle says. 

As soon as Luna and her owner steps out of the room, however, Riddle drops his smile. He has to be friendly to his clients, he knows that. Pet owners are fussy and overprotective and the smile helps. But he’s not much of a smiler, and it’s tiring.

He looks through the window of his practice room to see Ace, smiling like it’s so natural to him. His friendly chatter even makes Luna’s owner laugh. That’s something Riddle can’t quite do. 

Riddle slumps back in his chair, giving himself a breather before the next patient comes in. 

Ace slides open the door to Riddle’s practice room when he’s done billing Luna’s owner. He’s holding a clipboard with their next patient’s details on it.

“Next up it’s a hedgehog, you know him, Mimi,” Ace informs Riddle as he places the clipboard on Riddle’s desk. “The hedgehog himself is complaining about constant headaches and there’s a bump on his head.”

“Sounds bad,” Riddle agrees. He checks the clipboard to see the hedgehog has also lost weight since its last visit. It’s a seven-year-old hedgehog, meaning it’s advancing to old age, so that might be part of the reason.

“I have worse news for you,” Ace smiles sheepishly.

“What is it?”

“Your mother called,” Ace reports.

This brings out a groan from Riddle.

Riddle no longer lives with his mother, having a cold falling out with her when he accepted a scholarship to a veterinary school instead of, in her words, “a proper medical school”. However, they still share chilly conversations with one another every once in a while. His mother probably just heard some stories about her friends’ children again, using them to tell Riddle he’s making a mistake with his veterinary practice.

This, despite how successful Rosehearts Veterinary is.

“I’ll call her back after work,” Riddle grumbles quietly. His practice is always busy, and he can’t afford a cold conversation with his mother affecting his mood when dealing with animals and their owners.

“Good idea,” Ace says with a grin. “I’ll tell her that if she calls again.”

And most likely she will call again, not satisfied with Riddle not being at her beck-and-call even though he’s, again in her own words, “just a vet”.

Riddle sighs deeply at the idea of having to talk to her later that day, but Ace continues to smile at him.

“Cheer up,” Ace says. “You have dinner with Trey after that.”

“That’s true,” Riddle murmurs. “He better bring me cake.”

“Doesn’t he always?” Ace says with a chuckle. “So you can look forward to the strawberry tart.”

“After a call with my mother, I will be disappointed if there’s no cake,” Riddle says half-jokingly. “Anyway, bring Mimi and his human in.”

“His human has a name,” Ace laughs.

Fully knowing that Riddle is not going to remember Mimi’s owner’s name anyway.

Trey picked out a simple, pasta-speciality restaurant when he asked Riddle out last week. It’s a restaurant Riddle is familiar with, located not far from Trey’s cake shop or, therefore, from where Riddle grew up. Still, with his strict mother, Riddle barely ever ate out as a child and his first experience with this pasta restaurant was with Trey, back when he was a broke veterinary student on scholarship and Trey decided to treat him to a meal.

It’s a bit of a comfort spot for him now, and Trey surely picked it for tonight knowing that. He wants a comfort spot for both of them, allowing them to chat about anything. This is something Riddle appreciates today after a long day of work and a phone call with his mother.

“So she called me because one of her friend’s children is going to medical school now,” Riddle recounts the phone call with his mother to Trey over his squid ink pasta. “Somehow, she still thinks I might go to medical school and that incentive would be her friend’s children.”

“But you’re happy with the veterinary practice,” Trey says with a smile. 

“I really am,” Riddle agrees. His days might be busy, but they’re busy taking care of animals. Sure, he’s not too good with the humans, but being around animals comforts him so he can deal with that negative aspect of the job. “I had a new client today, the cutest dog.”

“Do you have a picture?” Trey asks.

“Yeah, I asked the owner,” Riddle says. He takes out his phone, swiping it over to the dog’s picture. He shows the fluffy thing to Trey. The dog is fluffy, almost a sphere with how fluffy he is, with a wide smile on his face as he sticks out his tongue.

“Very cute,” Trey says as he adjusts his glasses. “Came to you for vaccination?”

“Yes, I told the owner we should monitor his health for another week before I vaccinate him, though,” Riddle says, shaking his head. “But that means seeing him again next week.”

“You sound pleased about that,” Trey grins.

“Of course I am,” Riddle says. “I like all my clients, but that dog was just so fluffy.”

“And your clients are the animals,” Trey says with a soft smile. “See, you’re doing well, ignore your mother.”

“You’re right,” Riddle replies with a nod. He takes a fork of his pasta and brings it to his lips. The squid ink pasta at this place might stain his teeth black with its sauce, but it tastes so comforting to Riddle. “I shouldn’t mind her. I don’t live with her anymore for a reason.”

“Exactly,” Trey nods approvingly. “And I can tell, you know?”

“Tell what?”

“How much happier you’ve been since you started living alone,” Trey says. He’s looking at Riddle so kindly. There’s only a year between Trey and Riddle, but sometimes it really feels like Trey is his soft older brother. Trey, who would play with him despite his parents. Trey, who has helped him throughout the years. “Even when you were living off scholarships and didn’t have a lot of money, you were happier.”

Riddle smiles in return. A genuine smile that doesn’t feel forced out of him, unlike all the time at work.

“I really am happier now,” Riddle responds softly.

“And you’ll be happier seeing this,” Trey grins. He uses his magic to float a paper box from his bag over to Riddle’s side of the table.

“Strawberry tart?” Riddle asks.

“Strawberry tart,” Trey assures. “As always.”

“I always look forward to your cakes,” Riddle says happily. He doesn’t open the cake box now, not with them being in a restaurant and him still eating his pasta, but it’s something to look forward to when he gets home.

“Just make sure you brush your teeth properly after,” Trey chides playfully. 

“I will, I will,” Riddle replies with a shake of his head. “I can’t go into work tomorrow with all the squid ink on my teeth.”

“And all the sugar from the strawberry tart,” Trey reminds him, still playful and soft. Then, his expression turns slightly more grim.

“What’s wrong?” Riddle asks. It’s easy for him to pick up on these mood changes when it comes to Trey, with them having been friends for most of their lives. 

“To tell you the truth,” Trey starts, then he takes a deep breath. “I asked you out today because I have something important to tell you.”

“Something important?” Riddle frowns. “You’re not sick, are you?”

“No, not at all,” Trey replies with a wry smile. “It’s about Cater.”

Riddle tenses up at the name.

More than ten years ago, Cater had kissed him the night before his graduation. Riddle, who was unable to deal with his emotions at the time, had run away. And looking back, that might have hurt Cater’s feelings.

Looking back, that might be the reason for how Cater acted towards him on his graduation day.

When Riddle approached Cater, newly graduated with his diploma in hand, Cater had told him in his usual cheerful demeanor that the kiss was a joke. That he was dared to do it a long time ago by his classmate and wanted to fulfill it before he graduated.

And that in turn had hurt Riddle. Riddle, who liked Cater. Riddle, who wanted that kiss to mean something. 

While Riddle continued to stay in touch with his friends from Night Raven College -- with Trey, of course, but also with Ace and Deuce -- he had fallen out of touch with Cater. They’ve met since graduation -- at alumni meetings, and initially whenever Cater would visit Rose Kingdom, hanging out with Trey, Deuce and Ace. With regards to the latter, their three friends had picked up on how awkward they were around each other whenever they got to meet, so after a while, they tended to hang out with Cater without Riddle.

That kiss messed Riddle up in a way he did not want to admit. Riddle continues to stay away from people who might have interest in him romantically. He stays away from people who remind him of Cater, even when he feels a pull towards them. 

Even now, when he sees Ace playing with dating apps, he would scoff. Kissing, dating, all of that became something that Riddle does not want to deal with. All because of a stupid crush back in his Night Raven College days. And he manages to push that all away, occupying himself with first his studies then his work.

And now, Trey is bringing Cater up.

No wonder Trey picked this restaurant for their dinner tonight. Their comfort spot. A place where they can talk about anything.

“What about Cater?” Riddle asks quietly.

“He’s moving to the Rose Kingdom,” Trey says, his tone quiet and serious. “He’s no longer comfortable in the Land of Pyroxene, so he wants a new start.”

“I see,” Riddle says, feeling his throat tighten up.

“I’m not sure what happened between the two of you,” Trey says softly. Riddle has never told him, and it seems like Cater hasn’t told him either. “But whatever it is, it happened in NRC, didn’t it?”

“Yes,” Riddle finds it hard to speak, but he manages to affirm Trey’s suspicion.

“I’m not going to ask you what happened,” Trey says patiently. “But we’re still friends with Cater. We will hang out with him. And it would be good if we could hang out with the both of you.”

Riddle understands this. He can’t monopolize Trey, Deuce and Ace. They are Cater’s friends as much as they are his. 

“It has been years,” Riddle concedes quietly. “And we’re both adults.”

Trey extends his hand across the table. He takes Riddle’s hand in his own. 

Riddle realizes right then, with his hand in Trey’s steady one, that he’s trembling. That the thought of Cater brings back the memories of that night. Of that kiss. Of how he ran away. Of how Cater treated it like a joke the next day.

In retrospect, Riddle knows that Cater might’ve said all that because Riddle ran away.

In retrospect, Riddle knows he might have been at fault.

But the Riddle from back then was emotionally immature. The Riddle from back then couldn’t take being told by his crush that their kiss was a joke. A dare.

Riddle now is not the Riddle from back then. He’s older. He can control his temper better. He’s a successful vet.

And, as Trey said, he is happier, more so than ever before.

Surely he can’t let an incident from more than a decade ago affect him.

“I’ll be alright,” he tells Trey, even if he can’t quite meet Trey’s eyes. “I’ll hang out with all of you.”

Trey tightens his grip on Riddle’s hand. Like Riddle can read Trey’s mood, Trey can read Riddle like an open book. Trey knows that this isn’t the easiest thing for Riddle.

“You’re willing to give it a try?” Trey asks.

“I’m willing to give it a try,” Riddle assures, holding Trey’s hand back, tightly. 

“I’m glad,” Trey replies softly. “And listen, if it doesn’t work out--”

“We can be civil,” Riddle assures Trey. “I might not know Cater as well now, but I know he would never want to make you guys uncomfortable. And neither do I.”

“Thank you,” Trey says.

Only then can Riddle look up at him.

Trey, wearing the gentlest smile. Trey, truly grateful that he’s willing to work with him.

And Riddle knows right then, he will give it his all to make this work.

Riddle opens the door to his apartment to the sound of his cat, Amadeus, meowing at him. With Riddle staying out a little late with Trey, her food bowl must be empty and she’s demanding he fills it back up. Amadeus is a short-haired white cat, one that Riddle adopted from the pound not long after he started his veterinary practice. He likes being surrounded by animals at work, but he finds that it’s not quite enough and his empty flat needed a little extra life in it. Hence, the cat.

He scratches behind her ears as he walks over to a kitchen cabinet, taking out a bag of dry food to fill her food bowl.

As she eats, he crouches down beside her.

“Amadeus,” he says softly in cat language. “Cater is moving to the Rose Kingdom.”

At this, Amadeus pauses. She looks up at him, tilting her head.

“The same Cater you told me about?” she replies in cat language. 

“The same Cater,” Riddle replies to his cat. “Trey wants all of us to hang out. And I promised him I’ll try.”

Amadeus lets out a meow of displeasure.

“You can hang out with him,” Amadeus says. “But be careful. If something happens, it’d be up to me to pick up the pieces.”

Riddle laughs. He buries his face in Amadeus’ neck, smelling that pleasant cat smell from her as he ruffles her fur.

“I’m going to try,” Riddle says. “It’s been more than ten years.”

“It happened so long ago, I wasn’t even born yet,” Amadeus chides Riddle. “Now let go of me, I want to eat.”

Riddle parts from Amadeus, standing up and moving towards his own bedroom. That’s right. It was so long ago that Amadeus wasn’t even born when it happened. And Trey wasn’t asking him to be best friends with Cater. Trey just wants them to be able to exist in the same room, to hang out with the whole group.

He’s going to be okay.

Riddle picks up his phone. He pauses for a second with Cater’s number visible on his screen. He considers texting Cater for a second, but decides against it.

Instead, he flicks down to Trey’s name.

“I want to help with the welcome party,” he types, clicking the send button to Trey. Then, for good measure, he adds a second text: “for Cater.”

He then puts down his phone. 

Trey might be surprised. Or perhaps he might be glad.

But Riddle is only going to go back to dealing with this after a cold shower.

Riddle finishes the last bit of decoration for Cater’s welcoming party, a single banner that says WELCOME CATER on it. Trey told everyone to keep it simple, but he himself went all out, making cakes despite the fact Cater can’t enjoy them without Trey’s unique magic. On the other hand, Ace had placed several types of alcohol -- cheap beer, cheaper wine and off-brand spirits.

“So we’re having cake and alcohol,” Riddle mutters, with only Deuce being close enough to him to hear him. “Not a very healthy evening.”

“It’s alright once in a while,” Deuce says with an easy laugh. 

Deuce has taken off his jacket, and has thrown it on the sofa. He’s wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans. His T-shirt has this impression of being old and dirty, possibly because it is old and dirty. It’s likely he wears it regularly at his work.

With his passion for magical wheels, Deuce now works in a garage. He told them before he’s saving up to open his own garage, but with how much Deuce is spending on upgrades for his personal magical wheel, that might not happen anytime soon. Still, he seems to enjoy his work and it pays him well enough for his daily life and to have a sweet ride.

Deuce picks up a bottle of beer, taking a sip from it.

“Drinking before food, Deuce?” Riddle asks as he raises an eyebrow. “Are you going to be alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” Deuce waves off. “More importantly, will you be?”

“I’m not the one drinking on an empty stomach,” Riddle scoffs.

“Even if you have more of a reason to do so,” Deuce says in a quiet tone.

“Because of Cater?”

“Because of Cater,” Deuce says. “Are you sure you’ll be alright? You’ve been avoiding him for so long.”

“It’s been years, Deuce,” Riddle says, even if Deuce’s question makes him want to grab a beer for himself and start drinking. “I’m an adult with a job now.”

“Aren’t we all?” Deuce chuckles. “But if you say so, then I’m glad.”

Before Deuce could say anything else, Ace slips in from the door connecting the shop to this living area of the building.

“Cater is downstairs,” Ace reports. “Let’s get ready to surprise him.”

Deuce and Riddle nod, taking their positions by the couch in front of the WELCOME CATER banner. Ace joins them shortly after. They can hear Trey and Cater talking cheerfully as they come up the stairs from the shop to this living area. 

Then, as the door opens, they yell “surprise!”

Riddle manages to do so even though it feels like his throat slightly clenches up at the sight of Cater by the door. Cater looks at the three of them, wide-eyed. Then, he smiles.

“You guys!” Cater laughs. A laugh that’s still familiar to Riddle even after all their years apart. “You really didn’t have to.”

“Trey made cake,” Ace exclaims. “And I brought alcohol. Lots of alcohol.”

“Too much alcohol,” Trey chides. “But you have your pick, Cater.”

Deuce and Ace go from behind the coffee table to greet Cater. Meanwhile, Riddle continues to stand by the couch, feeling slightly awkward.

Cater hugs Ace, then Deuce. 

Then, he turns to Riddle.

“Riddle,” he says with a wide smile. “It’s been a while.”

“It’s really been a while,” Riddle says with a smile, one he can himself feel is awkward and clumsy. He doesn’t move to approach Cater, but the two of them continue to look at each other. Cater looks at him like he can’t quite believe he’s there, and Riddle looks at Cater like he’s not sure what to do here. Then, he extends his hand.

Cater chuckles lightly, taking Riddle’s hand in his for a light handshake. 

“It’s good to see you,” Cater says.

And Riddle wants to believe that, this time, Cater truly means it.

He wants to believe that it’s truly good to see Cater again.

“Anyway, cake!” Cater exclaims. “Trey, you’d have to use your unique magic on me.”

“I made some savory pie too,” Trey smiles wryly. “I remember you don’t like sweets.”

“Good,” Cater laughs. “Ooh, they’re so pretty, I’m going to take pictures for my Magicame! You don’t mind your house being my background, do you Trey?”

Already, this seems like all the time they had spent together in Heartslabyul. Like the good days they shared as friends at Night Raven College.

Except with more alcohol, Riddle realizes.

He reaches out for a bottle of beer, and despite having fussed over Deuce for it, he decides to take a sip. 

“Hey,” Cater calls out to Riddle, taking a seat by his side. 

It’s late at night with all the lamps in Trey’s living room turned on. However, it’s lights out for Trey, Ace and Deuce. Trey, never being very good with alcohol and exhausted from all the baking he did earlier that day. Ace and Deuce, from drinking like they’re still young, despite how they’re only a year younger than Riddle.

This situation leaves Riddle with just Cater.

Riddle had been standing around the edge of the party since Cater arrived. He answered when he had to, he laughed at all the jokes and the stories. But he had not interacted with Cater one-on-one after their introduction.

He thought that this would be how it goes from here on. The two of them as almost strangers, not quite friends. Them as members of the same group who just don’t talk one-on-one. And it would be fine.

But now, it’s just the two of them. 

And Cater is approaching him.

“Hey,” Riddle replies. He looks at the bottle of beer in front of him, wondering if it too would knock him out. But Riddle is surprisingly strong with alcohol for someone who doesn’t drink very much at all. That, and the cake is doing a good job neutralizing all the alcohol; Riddle has always been more fond of cake, eating many slices throughout the party.

“You know, when I said it’s good to see you,” Cater starts, taking a deep breath before he continues. “I really meant it.”

Cater is wearing a smile on his face, bright and cheery despite the hushed and quiet tone he’s speaking in. 

“I’d like to think so too,” Riddle says quietly, taking another sip of his beer.

“Really,” Cater says, trying to reassure him. “I’m glad you’re here. I was wondering how you’d take me moving to the Rose Kingdom.”

“Because of what happened between us over a decade ago?” Riddle asks. Even saying it now, it feels slightly silly. Being worked up over something that happened back when they were in Night Raven College. 

Over a decade ago. He should’ve been over this. At least enough to be in the same room with Cater.

And hopefully, enough to talk to Cater like this.

“Look, Riddle,” Cater says. He’s looking right at Riddle, and his gaze, more intense than usual, turns Riddle to look at him. This is the closest Riddle has seen Cater’s face since that night. The most he’s truly looked at him, with his bright eyes, with his smile that can make just about anyone else smile. 

“I’m looking,” Riddle replies quietly.

“This is late, I know,” Cater starts. “But I’m sorry. For what happened that night.”

“It’s fine,” Riddle murmurs. “It’s a long time ago.”

“It’s not fine,” Cater says. He holds Riddle by the shoulders, gripping tightly to Riddle and pulling him that slight bit closer. “I shouldn’t have done that, dare or not.”

Riddle finds his breath hitches slightly; at the same time, it feels like the tight grip on his chest, one that he’s been feeling since he saw Cater walk through that door, is loosening up. Perhaps, all this time, he just wanted to know if Cater remembers. Perhaps, all this time, he just wanted to hear Cater say that it’s not fine.

“Thank you,” he says in a small voice, barely louder than a whisper.

“If you don’t want me around,” Cater says. “I’ll move out quickly, find a new place, I have other friends in Rose Kingdom too.”

“But not as close as these three?” Riddle guesses.

Cater’s eyes widen at this, then he smiles.

“Not as close as these three,” he admits. 

“Then I don’t want to keep you away from them,” Riddle says firmly. He shakes Cater’s hands off his shoulders, but he continues to look earnestly at Cater. “We don’t have to be best friends, but we can hang out, can’t we? We are adults after all.”

Cater laughs softly.

“True,” he says. “And to be honest, I miss having you around.”

“You do?” Riddle finds himself asking. Only then does he feel slightly bashful, turning away from Cater and averting his gaze from him. 

“Yeah,” Cater says. He too, looks away from Riddle, he looks towards the wall of Trey’s apartment. “Things aren’t quite the same without you, Riddle.”

“Hmm,” Riddle hums, feeling a little smug. “It won’t be half-bad having you around too.”

“Really?” Cater asks, then, he laughs bashfully at his own excitement.

“You do pour the best tea,” Riddle says teasingly. “I miss you losing at croquet to me.”

“That’s what you miss, huh?” Cater says with a fake huff. “But, good. So we can be friends?”

Riddle turns to Cater, raising his bottle of beer at Cater’s direction. Cater smiles back, bright, cheerful and, Riddle would like to think, genuine. He knocks his bottle of beer against Riddle’s, a pleasant clinking sound filling the brief quiet between them. 

“We can be friends,” Riddle says.

This time, it doesn’t feel like the words are stuck at his throat. This time, there’s no heaviness in his chest.

This time, Riddle can truly mean every word of it.

“Mimi is getting older,” Riddle explains to Mimi’s owner. “A hedgehog’s life expectancy is only up to ten years, and even that is rare. So it’s normal for him to develop some problems around this age.”

“Is there anything we can do for him?” the concerned owner looks at Riddle. She truly cares about her hedgehog, which makes Mimi very lucky. There are people who wouldn’t want to deal with an aging animal, people who Riddle would be more curt to. But with people like Mimi’s owner who truly care, Riddle would help them as much as he can.

“If you use him for croquet, it’s probably time to retire him,” Riddle says gently. “He might not be able to take it as well as he did when he was younger.”

“I see,” Mimi’s owner says softly. “I’ll tell my parents to stop using Mimi for croquet.”

“But do let him hang out with the flamingo,” Riddle says. “They’ve spent a lot of time together, so they would be comfortable together. It would be good social interaction for Mimi.”

The girl seems to take in all these notes from Riddle.

“Is there any food we can feed him?”

“We have special senior hedgehog food outside,” Riddle replies. The brand they sell at Rosehearts Veterinary is one that Riddle has checked thoroughly, so he has no problems recommending it to his patients. “You can ask our receptionist for it.”

“I just want Mimi to live a long, happy life,” Mimi’s owner says softly.

“And Mimi is lucky to have you,” Riddle reassures her. 

He writes up the rest of her bill, handing it to her quietly as usual. The girl then takes the bill over to where Ace is sitting at the receptionist desk.

Riddle watches as Ace gets up to pick up the senior hedgehog food, a 2 kilogram bag that should last Mimi a while. After receiving the payment, Ace waves the girl off. 

This time, however, Ace doesn’t come into Riddle’s practice room. Instead, he takes out his phone and begins fiddling with it.

Riddle sighs, stepping out to the reception area.

“Ace,” he calls out to Ace. “No other customers?”

“Nope,” Ace says, still scrolling down on his phone. “It’s a quiet weekday.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t sound so disappointed,” Ace says with an amused laugh. “You should take breaks when you can. You already work six days a week.”

“So do you,” Riddle points out. The veterinary practice is just the two of them, after all. He had asked Ace if he should get another receptionist so Ace could rotate his hours, but Ace is happy to work the full six days. He had told Riddle it’s more money for a job he actually likes, and Riddle is glad that’s how Ace sees it.

Riddle takes a peek behind Ace’s shoulder, seeing the Magicame screen on the phone.

“Is that Cater’s Magicame?” Riddle asks.

“Yep,” Ace answers. “He’s posting a lot about his move to the Rose Kingdom.”

“Is he doing well?”

“See for yourself,” Ace twists his body so that he can show his phone to Riddle. He scrolls past videos and pictures on Cater’s feed. The food he’s eating, the friends he’s meeting, the places he’s visiting. 

“Seems like he’s having a good time,” Riddle murmurs.

“It’s Magicame, it will always look like a good time,” Ace replies. 

Riddle knows Ace is right about that. One always posts their best life on Magicame instead of what they’re truly feeling. While he doesn’t doubt that Cater is enjoying all Rose Kingdom has to offer, there might be a darker, unsaid part to it too.

Perhaps he’s even missing the Land of Pyroxene without showing it on Magicame. Perhaps keeping busy is his way to keep homesickness at bay.

And it’s especially hard to tell with Cater. Cater, who seems to put his entire life on Magicame. Cater, who always seems so bright and cheerful no matter what. But then again, perhaps Riddle is unfairly making this assessment from the Cater he knew at Night Raven College.

The Cater he talked to on the night of the welcome party was still smiling, but there was something more genuine to him. And Riddle likes that.

“Speaking of, are you coming tonight?” Ace asks.

“Tonight?”

“Dinner and bar. Cater sent you an e-vite on Magicame.”

“All of you should know by now I barely check my Magicame,” Riddle huffs. He feels like Cater or Trey should ask him directly through text or something.

Since Cater moved to Rose Kingdom, they have hung out with everyone else. Usually, these sessions would take place at Trey’s place. It was rare for them to really go out. 

“Cater said the restaurant is sponsoring him,” Ace says. “So he has to show a social media trail.”

“I see,” Riddle nods. “So it’s free dinner?”

“Seems like it,” Ace grins. “Come on, we’re not open tomorrow. You should come too.”

Riddle nods. It does seem like it might be good. Besides, all the time he hung out with Cater at Trey’s had not been awkward. They had been friends, as they were years ago. Even if for now, they’ve only together when in a group.

Cater’s apology had really lifted a weight from Riddle’s chest.

“Alright,” Riddle says. “For the free dinner.”

“A good reason,” Ace says, smiling brightly.

Before Riddle could say anything else, the front door of his veterinary practice opens up to reveal a man with two animal carriers.

“Welcome!” Ace greets the man, quickly turning off his phone and shoving it away. “Popo and Chichi! It’s been a while.”

“They’ve been a little weak,” the man explains. “I think there’s something wrong with their food.”

“I’ll have a look at them,” Riddle says with a customer service smile. “Check in with Ace here, and I’ll be waiting in the practice room.”

“Thanks, doc,” the man says.

Riddle makes his way back to his practice room as Ace talks to the man in his usual animated manner. 

He sits back in his chair, reorienting himself back into his work mode.

But there’s a part of him that’s excited for their dinner and bar tonight. A part of him that’s excited to be with all of his friends.

And that’s a good mood he’s going to ride out for the rest of the day.

“Alright, listen up,” Trey announces after their dinner. They’re more or less full from all the food they were allowed to try, with pretty pictures aplenty for Cater’s Magicame. Full enough that they won’t get too affected by the alcohol they’re about to drink as they head to the bar. At least, that’s what Riddle hopes. 

“Yessir,” Ace says with a mischievous smile.

“Some of us have work tomorrow,” Trey says sternly. “So we have to drink responsibly tonight.”

“Not all of us have work tomorrow,” Ace smiles. “So does this mean I can drink all I want?”

“At least make sure you’re sober enough to go home by yourself,” Trey replies with a wry smile. “Because I’m not going to carry you home.”

“Aw,” Ace says, but he’s still grinning and smiling. “Okay, I’ll be careful.”

“I don’t like getting drunk anyway,” Riddle says with a shrug. He knows Deuce has his garage to handle tomorrow, and Trey’s cake shop would be open. He’s not sure what Cater is going to be up to, but he seems busy with his work as an influencer, so he probably has some sort of event to attend.

“Come on,” Cater says with a grin. “Let’s enjoy ourselves.”

“Responsibly,” Trey reminds.

“Let’s enjoy ourselves responsibly,” Cater laughs.

They head towards a bar that seems to be a mainstay in the city. Riddle remembers it standing when he was a child, and it still stands today. Despite it being a weekday, there is still a small crowd, sitting around the bar or at the booths. 

Their group takes a seat at a booth, with Trey and Deuce going to get them drinks.

Riddle looks around the bar to observe the clientele. They seem so varied, ranging from university students to working-age men like them and even old men who must’ve gone to this bar since they were young. The bartenders behind the bar are men with checkered shirts, giving this bar that rough, working-class feel. They have a traditional jukebox near the entrance, and deeper into the bar is a dartboard.

“Riddle, what are you looking at?” Cater asks.

“The dartboard,” Riddle murmurs the thing his attention is on at that very moment. “It would be fun to play.”

Cater follows Riddle’s line of sight, his eyes landing on the dartboard. Then, he grins.

“I think I can win against you if it’s darts,” Cater teases. 

And even though Riddle knows Cater is riling him up on purpose, he lets himself be riled up. He can see Ace, sighing and knowing that Riddle is not going to let that go. He can see Trey and Deuce coming back with their drinks and wondering what is happening. But more than any of them, his eyes are on Cater who dared to challenge him.

“You really think so?” Riddle says cooly. “You’ve never won against me during our time in Heartslabyul.”

“That was ages ago,” Cater smiles mischievously. “I’m better now.”

“And you’re saying I’m not?” Riddle challenges Cater.

“I just think I can still win, regardless,” Cater chuckles. “Shall we try it?”

“You two,” Trey sighs. “Just don’t make a drinking game out of it.”

“Oh, I’m sure Riddle would like to be sober for it,” Cater continues. Then, he picks up a glass of beer, chugging it down in one go. “That’s the only way he’d win against me.”

Riddle huffs. He picks up a glass of beer and drinks it as well, feeling the drink fizz against the back of his throat, its bitter taste flooding his mouth. He slams the glass down on the table, causing it to shake.

“It’s not my fault if you’re weak to alcohol,” Riddle says smugly, letting his characteristic arrogant smile grace his face. This brings out a whistle from Cater.

“I’m not going to lose,” Cater says.

“I’m going to win,” Riddle asserts.

Trey laughs, shaking his head.

“Alright, I’ll keep score,” he offers. “An impartial judge.”

Ace and Deuce, meanwhile, turn to each other.

“Should we make bets?” Ace asks Deuce with a sly grin. 

Deuce lets out an amused chuckle. Then, he turns to Cater; “don’t lose.”

“So, boss, my money’s on you.”

“Leave it to me,” Riddle assures Ace. 

Then, he turns to Cater, feeling his heart beating fast in excitement. 

It’s been a while since they last competed, and he’s not going to let Cater win this. As usual, he will be the most right. 

He will be victorious.

“Told you I would win!” Riddle exclaims happily as he walks back home with Trey and Cater. 

They split up from Ace and Deuce in front of the bar as their homes are in different directions. Deuce was disappointed he lost the bet, while Ace headed home with a heavier wallet and alcohol buzzing in his system. 

“You took the match so seriously!” Cater laughs.

Despite his loss, Cater did not stay down for long. In fact, it seems like Cater isn’t down at all. 

“You’re too cheerful for someone who lost,” Riddle pouts. Part of what’s good about winning is the ability to gloat over it, but Cater is not quite giving that to Riddle. 

Riddle’s pout just brings a wider smile on Cater’s face, and perhaps it’s the alcohol in Riddle’s system, but there seems to be a fondness in Cater’s eyes while he looks at him too. Perhaps this is a sign of their friendship returning as it should over alcohol and over a game of darts. Perhaps Cater sees him as a cute underclassman like he seemed to have done back in Night Raven College.

“I had fun,” Cater shrugs. “I won’t get grumpy if it’s fun.”

“I should’ve thought up another punishment for you,” Riddle frowns. “Maybe dancing to the jukebox is nothing embarrassing for you.”

“I’m getting the video from Trey,” Cater says with a wide smile. “It’ll look good on my Magicame.”

“Definitely should’ve thought of another punishment,” Riddle sighs. He looks up, feeling the cool night air against his skin. They’re approaching the point where they should split up, Cater and Trey heading back to Trey’s shop while Riddle heads towards his flat.

“That was really fun,” Cater says, his voice still cheerful as he stretches out his arms. Riddle observes him with his flushed cheeks and wide smile. It has been over a decade, but in many ways, Cater still has that boyish beauty that drew Riddle in when he was in Night Raven College.

He shakes off the thought with a smile.

“It was really fun,” he replies quietly, slightly emphasizing the word really.

A part of him is almost disappointed that they have to part. The night feels really short, even if his watch is showing him that they’re coming close to midnight.

Cater smiles softly at him.

“We can do this again some other time,” Cater says, as if reading what’s in Riddle’s mind. Cater can be sharp sometimes, and Riddle can really be obvious with his expression.

“Yeah,” Riddle murmurs.

“We can’t drink like that all the time,” Trey interjects with a laugh.

“Aw, Trey,” Cater says with a fake pout. “You ended up drinking more than any of us. Except Ace, maybe.”

“That’s true,” Trey admits. “And I actually have work tomorrow.”

“Anyway,” Riddle says with his arms crossed. “I should head back. And so should the both of you.”

“Right,” Cater nods. “See you, Riddle.”

Cater and Trey wave their good-byes to him before taking the path to Trey’s shop. Riddle meanwhile takes the other path, the one that would lead him to his place. It’s a bit of a long walk, but Riddle does not mind. The cool night air feels good against his warm, flushed skin. 

He doesn’t feel all that tired upon reaching home. Instantly, he is greeted by his cat’s meow.

“Hello,” he greets Amadeus, scratching under her chin. She leads him to her food bowl, which he promptly fills up. Then, he continues talking to her: “I had a good night tonight.”

“With Cater?” Amadeus asks, sounding somewhat wary.

“With everyone,” Riddle insists.

But it’s true Cater made it all the more fun. Their friendly competition, the bets Deuce and Ace placed on them, how Cater danced to music from the jukebox without any shame, part due to his inebriation and part because he is Cater.

He didn’t feel awkward around Cater that night, and he saw that Cater was comfortable around him as well. The thought gives Riddle a sense of relief. He wanted to be friends with Cater, and that is what they are now. They’re friends: ones who can compete with each other for dares, ones who can go out for dinner and a drink.

“I’m glad,” Riddle mutters, more to himself than to the cat who’s currently ignoring him to eat. 

Riddle wakes up the next day to his phone ringing again and again. He doesn’t usually sleep in, not even on his days off, but he is a little hungover from the drinking they did the night before, and this hangover is making his head ache with every ring of his phone.

For a second, he wonders if it’s his mother. He dreads that it is his mother, because he’s not going to be able to handle her in his current state. Slowly, he reaches for his phone and breathes a sigh of relief seeing Trey’s name on the display.

He taps on the screen to answer the call, putting Trey on loudspeaker.

“Trey?” he uses his friend’s name as a question. Trey, why are you calling so early in the morning? Trey, is something wrong? He wraps all those sentiments into a single word.

“Riddle,” Trey says, sounding relieved. “Did I wake you?”

Riddle glances at the clock that reads half past eight in the morning. It’s past the time he would usually wake up.

“I was about to get up anyway,” Riddle says. 

“Okay, good,” Trey says. “We need you to do us a favor.”

“By ‘we’, do you mean you and Cater?”

“Bingo, Riddle!” Cater exclaims. His voice is soft, must be from being away from the phone. Trey must’ve put him on loudspeaker.

“What is it?” Riddle asks.

“See, we’re supposed to go to this croquet game this afternoon,” Trey starts explaining. “But my part-timer who’s supposed to cover for me at the shop during that time just called in sick, so I’ve to take care of the shop.”

“And I don’t want to go alone,” Cater chirps in.

If Riddle is to say ‘yes’ to this, then it would be the first time in over ten years that he would be hanging out with Cater one-on-one. Just last night he thought that he would like to be Cater’s friend, and he really meant that sentiment. He just didn’t expect he would have to meet up with only Cater so soon. He wonders if he’s ready for it. He wonders if it wouldn’t be awkward.

But it does seem like Cater does not mind it.

So neither should he, Riddle decides. Besides, it’s a croquet game. They’ll spend most of that time watching the game then talking about it. It shouldn’t be awkward.

“Alright,” Riddle sighs. “I do like croquet.”

“And it’s free tickets!” Cater calls out from where he must be sitting by Trey’s side.

“They’re local teams,” Trey explains. “And one of the teams wants Cater to promote them.”

“Got it,” Riddle says. “Just give me a time and tell me where to meet.”

Trey gives the details to Riddle, telling him that he should meet Cater at the station nearest to the sports stadium where the game would take place. 

“And I’ll be wearing a team jersey with jeans,” Cater quips in. “It’s for the sponsorship.”

This makes Riddle chuckle in amusement.

“I think I know what you look like,” Riddle says.

“There’ll be a crowd!” Cater says. He must’ve come closer to the phone because his voice is louder and clearer now.

“I don’t think a team jersey would help me find you at a croquet game,” Riddle sighs. “Anyway, I’ll see you there, Cater.”

Riddle hangs up the call. He glances at the clock, realizing that there’s still a lot of time before he has to go meet Cater. Usually, he would spend his days off relaxing with his cat and cleaning. There’ll be some time before he has to leave.

Still, as he uses his magic to move the broom and dustpan through his flat, he finds himself to be a little nervous. 

“Just two friends hanging out,” Riddle reminds himself. “It’s fine.”

“Riddle, over here!”

Cater waves to him as he comes out the ticket gate of the station. Indeed, he’s wearing a team jersey, a local team that Riddle knows little about. He enjoys croquet, but like many, he tends to watch the larger scale tournaments. Cater is going all out, wearing face paint in the team’s color as well as tying back his hair.

“You sure got in the mood,” Riddle says with a smile as soon as he gets to Cater’s side.

“Well, I’ll be posting this on Magicame,” Cater grins. “And I always go all out for sponsored posts.”

“Do you need me to take a picture for you?” Riddle offers.

“Can you? That would be perfect!” Cater exclaims happily, a bright spark in his eyes. “But not here, we should take one nearer the stadium.”

The two of them head towards the stadium, Riddle taking pictures of Cater in front of the large building. Cater is striking all sorts of poses, and Riddle thinks he looks good in any of the pictures. But while Riddle does not understand Magicame, much less being a Magicame influencer, he understands the pursuit of perfection. And, in a way, that’s what all these photos are for. Cater needs them to be perfect.

He swipes through the photos once Riddle is done, humming to himself as he does so.

“This one is really good,” Cater mumbles, probably more to himself than to Riddle. “Ah, but this one!”

In the end, he edits a picture quickly. He posts it on Magicame, muttering the hashtags he’s using aloud, cheerfully.

“I’ll need more photos later,” Cater explains. “But one at the beginning of the game!”

“Hope the photo is fine?” Riddle asks quietly. He’s not much of a photographer, barely using Magicame himself.

“You’re a natural,” Cater assures. “All the photos are great, it was hard choosing just one.”

This fills Riddle with pride. It might not be something he wants to do, not for a hobby and much less for a living like Cater, but he’s happy to be praised for his skills in something.

“You look so pleased,” Cater chuckles. “Come on, let’s go in.”

The two of them walk into the stadium together, staying close so that they do not lose each other in the crowd.

“It’s a weekday,” Riddle mutters. “But there are still so many people.”

“One of the teams has a player who plays for the national team,” Cater explains. “So many people want to see him.”

“I see,” Riddle nods. He understands the fervor croquet fans have for certain players. Croquet is not as big as Magshift, but it still has a dedicated following. This is especially true for the Rose Kingdom, where it’s more popular compared to other countries.

They find their seats in the stadium. As expected from sponsored seats, they’re pretty close to the court, giving them a clear view. 

“Croquet feels so nostalgic,” Cater says as they watch the game.

“We played a lot back at Night Raven College,” Riddle agrees. “And you lost a lot.”

“Hey, I didn’t lose that much,” Cater laughs. 

Their conversation is stopped short for a while as they cheer for their team. 

“You lost a lot to me,” Riddle points out with a confident grin. “That’s why you had to keep pouring tea for me. That’s why you got so good at pouring tea.”

“Hey, even so, I won against a lot of others in Heartslabyul,” Cater grins. “Oh, do you remember that time the ghosts took over our school?”

“And you failed at hitting on the ghost bride, yes,” Riddle says with a nod.

“You wouldn’t let Ace pour the tea for you because his rank during the match was too low,” Cater reminds. “And you had to get me before midnight so I can pour you your tea. That shows I won a lot of the time.”

“Just not to me,” Riddle teases.

“Perhaps just not to you,” Cater concedes with a wry smile.

It’s a little late after the match, but Cater insists on treating Riddle to dinner. All the restaurants by the stadium are crowded with hungry croquet fans, so they head back towards their mutual home station, finding an open twenty-four-hour diner.

“Order anything you want,” Cater says. “My treat.”

“Are you sure?”

“You were a wonderful assistant today,” Cater says. He taps his phone lightly with his finger. “I got lots of good photos thanks to you.”

“You already got me a free ticket for the croquet match,” Riddle argues back.

Cater waves his hands at Riddle’s argument.

“A match that was my job to go to,” he reminds Riddle. “So come on, let me treat you. Don’t be shy and order what you want, okay?”

“Fine,” Riddle mutters. “Don’t regret it later.”

“I know you’re not the type to waste food,” Cater laughs. “So you’re not going to order unnecessary things just to tease me.”

That much is true. Riddle hates wasting food, and on top of that, in all honesty, he knows he doesn’t eat very much. Sure, he might have two or three stomachs when it comes to cake, especially Trey’s cakes, but when it comes to a regular meal, he’s been told he doesn’t eat very much before declaring himself full. 

He orders an all-day breakfast with tea, while Cater orders a burger with fries. It doesn’t take all that long for their order to arrive. 

“Oily,” Riddle observes.

“Not good for the skin,” Cater agrees. “But hey, it’s nice once in a while.”

The plating of the food isn’t anything fancy either, but that doesn’t stop Cater from taking pictures of both of their food. He fiddles with his phone, trying to get it from all sorts of different angles.

“This food isn’t even fancy,” Riddle says with a sigh. “You’re not uploading that, are you?”

“No,” Cater grins. “These are for me.”

Even back in Night Raven College, Cater was like this. He took pictures of anything and everything, posting them on his Magicame. Cater’s Magicame really feels like a time capsule, archiving everything from their lives at the time. He’s more careful about what he posts in recent years, as he’s gotten more sponsorships, but it seems like his habit of taking pictures of everything has not changed over the years at least. Riddle has no clue how Cater has the phone space to keep all those photos, but perhaps he pays for a cloud thing that Riddle would never use, considering how he uses his phone for communication and little else.

“They’re really not special meals,” Riddle shakes his head disbelievingly. “Why would you need pictures of them?”

“The food might not be special,” Cater says, still with a smile on his face despite the softness of his voice. “But today is.”

“Today is?”

“Going out with you to watch croquet, having dinner with you,” Cater muses. “It’s a good day, and one I get to spend with an old friend.”

“An old friend, huh?” Riddle echoes the word. “But doesn’t this count as work for you?”

“I like my work,” Cater laughs. “Experiencing things, documenting them. It feels like second nature to me.”

“I can see that,” Riddle nods. Indeed, that does seem like something Cater would just do for himself. It’s just now he gets paid for it. He gets to try things he usually wouldn’t try with his own money and time. 

“How about you, Riddle?” Cater asks as he starts poking at the fries on his plate with a fork. “How’s being a vet?”

Riddle blinks at the sudden question. He supposes the last time he really talked with Cater prior to Cater arriving at the Rose Kingdom a few weeks ago was that night before Cater’s graduation. Back then, he still told everyone he was going to be a doctor. A proper doctor, in his mother’s word, exactly how his mother would have liked.

But now he’s a vet. He defied his mother’s expectations, much to her disappointment. Now, he works with the animals that he loves, and owns a small practice he’s proud of.

“I’ve never been happier,” he says, softly, earnestly, meaning every word.

Cater grins back at him.

“Then I’m happy for you,” Cater says, his smile brighter than ever, his eyes twinkling even under the cheap lights of the diner.

The two of them make small talk as they eat their respective meals. Afterwards, Cater picks up the bill. As he promised, he pays for the both of them before they walk out into the cool night air. They’re going the same way for a bit, but like the other night, they will split up at the fork in the road.

Cater stretches out his arm as they get to where they have to part.

“That was really fun,” he says, not quite looking at Riddle. It’s like he’s unsure where he wants to go with this string of dialogue. Like he has so much to say. Then, he takes a deep breath. “Riddle, I’m just wondering, can we do this again?”

“Go out for a croquet game?” Riddle blurts out. Clumsy words on his part, he realizes soon after as Cater laughs. 

“Maybe, but you know,” Cater waves his hands around a little. “Just go out like this. As friends.”

They did have a good time today, Riddle cannot deny that. It really feels like what happened so many years ago no longer matters. It feels like he and Cater are truly friends, more so than just people who happen to hang out in the same group.

There’s no reason to say no. And just the idea of that brings a smile on Riddle’s face.

“Of course,” he says, finding the words leave him with ease. “Of course we can.”

Cater’s face lights up. That bright smile, those pretty eyes, his body relaxing. All of Cater seems so happy to know that Riddle would hang out with him again and that makes Riddle’s heart skip a beat. Riddle takes a deep breath to calm himself down, hoping that Cater does not see his slight fluster. Hoping he’s less obvious than the absolutely happy Cater.

“Of course, it could be a croquet match,” Cater says quickly. “But it could be something else too.”

“Anything,” Riddle smiles. “I’ll go with you to anything. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“We are,” Cater says, his chest heaving in relief. Cater is a master of putting on an always happy face, but this is different. This happiness is honest and there’s something absolutely charming about it.

“Anyway,” Riddle says. “I do have work tomorrow, so I should head back.”

“Same,” Cater nods in reply. “I’ll see you again soon.”

“Yeah,” Riddle nods. Soon. That sounds good. 

The two of them part at the fork in the road. For a second, Riddle thinks about looking back. Riddle thinks about Cater, who for that entire day had been fun and cheerful. Cater, who seems so happy that Riddle thinks of him as a friend.

Riddle sighs to himself as he looks up at the night sky above.

They will see each other again soon, Cater said.

And Riddle will look forward to that soon.

That ‘soon’ did not quite come in the next couple of weeks, when Riddle’s time with Cater is shared with Deuce, Ace and Trey as well. He doesn’t mind. After all, he likes hanging out with his other friends just as much. In those weeks, Riddle found himself comfortable in Cater’s presence. They joked around, competed with each other and took photos for Cater’s magicame.

Ace told him earlier that day that it was obvious that Riddle acted a lot less awkward around Cater. An observation that brought a smile on Riddle’s face.

That night, he scrolls through Cater’s Magicame while he’s in bed, Amadeus curling in next to him. She’s asleep, no longer meowing or asking him for treats. For all her intelligence Amadeus is a cat, after all, and cats do spend a lot of their lives asleep.

Riddle scrolls through pictures from the past two weeks on his phone, recognizing some of the restaurants and bars as places they went to as a group. He snorts as he sees what is obviously Ace’s back in one of the photos Cater uploaded, Ace’s bright orange hair standing out even against the background.

He soon reaches the photos he took back during the croquet game. Cater posing in front of the stadium with his team jersey, pictures of the scoreboard, all the sights he shared with Cater. As Cater said, he did not upload the pictures of their diner food from that evening, the cheap greasy food that would not look quite in line with the rest of Cater’s brand.

For a second, Riddle muses over what Ace said to him: that on Magicame, everything will always look like it’s a good time. That’s what’s on Cater’s feed. It’s all fun, all ramped up in its saturation. It makes Riddle wonder about what is not shown. Like the greasy diner food that Cater left out. Like their alcohol-induced talk after Cater’s welcome party.

He scrolls past the pictures Cater posted after his move to Rose Kingdom to see Cater’s life in the Land of Pyroxene.

At first glance, it seems similar to his posts since moving to Rose Kingdom. Pictures of food, parties and events. There are some faces other than Cater’s own, faces that Riddle does not recognize. Of course Cater’s circle would widen after graduating from Night Raven College. Of course he would have a life that Riddle does not know.

As he scrolls down further, he begins to recognize one face.

A man, with blond hair always perfectly styled. With blue eyes that seem to look good under any lighting, always striking in the photos. A man with the kind of body that he must’ve worked hard to get but with an air of nonchalance about that statuesque body. 

A man who looks so perfect next to Cater. 

Riddle sees a picture of Cater kissing the man’s cheek.

Third anniversary with this cutie, the caption reads. Love you always!

“Anniversary,” Riddle mutters to himself.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this man, this beautiful, seemingly perfect man, is Cater’s boyfriend.

Or perhaps, was Cater’s boyfriend.

Riddle finds himself staring at the picture of Cater kissing this other man’s cheek. Cater looks so happy in this picture, but then again, it’s Magicame.

Cater has never mentioned a boyfriend in all the weeks they’ve been hanging out. He never leaves them to answer a call. This leads Riddle to believe that this person is indeed Cater’s ex.

After all, he stopped appearing on Cater’s Magicame feed some weeks before Cater moved to Rose Kingdom. And there seems to be a period in time where Cater was posting less often. 

Riddle wonders if it’s alright to ask Cater about this. If it’s something Cater would want to talk about with him. But just as he’s looking at the picture, moving his thumb on the screen, he accidentally presses the ‘like’ button.

“Shit,” Riddle murmurs to himself. He quickly unlikes the picture, hoping that Cater wouldn’t get to see it in time.

But knowing Cater is always on his phone, he’s not entirely hopeful.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Riddle’s phone vibrates in his hands. Cater’s name and picture shows up on his screen. 

“Shit,” Riddle says again. He’s not prone to cursing, usually, but this is definitely a double ‘shit’ kind of moment.

He pulls himself up so he’s sitting on his bed. Then, he answers the phone.

“Cater?” he asks. Of course it’s Cater. They have smartphones now, and smartphones come with caller ID. Riddle instantly feels silly for asking.

“I see you’re snooping on my Magicame,” Cater says before laughing softly. “How is it?”

“It’s better than mine,” Riddle says. 

“I’m a pro,” Cater says cheerfully. “But you’re barely on Magicame, Riddle, so it’s a surprise to suddenly get a ‘like’ from you on such an old photo.”

“Yeah, well,” Riddle mutters, but he’s not able to come up with any decent excuse for his online snooping. Might as well come out with the truth then, he decides, clearing his throat to speak, “I was curious. About your life in the Land of Pyroxene.”

“And about my ex?” Cater asks teasingly.

“Is he your ex? The man in the photo?”

“Yeah, he is,” Cater replies. He still tries to keep up his cheerful tone, yet there’s something melancholic about this answer. 

“I’m sorry for asking,” Riddle says softly.

“No, it’s not like I’m trying to hide about him,” Cater quickly says, picking up his cheerful tone back up. “Or rather, I can’t hide him even if I wanted to.”

“I was wondering about that,” Riddle mutters, wondering if he can be heard over the call. But from Cater’s soft, sad chuckle, it seems like he’s clear enough to the man on the other side of the line. So he composes himself to continue his train of thoughts a little more, “I mean, why is he still on your Magicame?”

“Sponsorship,” Cater answers a little bitterly. “You see the sweater I’m wearing in that picture? And his jacket? They’re from a sponsor who wanted us to post a picture while wearing them.”

Being not well-versed in the world of social media influencers, Riddle finds this ridiculous. A happy anniversary post that has sponsorship behind it just doesn’t feel right. 

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Cater says, having picked up on Riddle’s silence. “He’s an influencer, too. Our getting together was public. Our break up, well, he made it public, too, on his account.”

“This sounds,” Riddle starts, but finds himself at a loss for words. Extreme? Strange? Completely disregarding any privacy Cater might have? Slowly, he thinks up what he can say. He thinks about what he really feels about it and settles on a single word: “awful.”

Cater laughs at this. A sad, tired laugh that is so different from how cheerful he usually is. 

“It is,” he agrees with Riddle, his voice quiet and barely audible through the phone speaker. “It is awful. But that comes with the job.”

“I’m sorry,” Riddle says softly.

“It’s okay,” Cater replies. “I chose this life, you know?”

“Even so,” Riddle frowns at Cater being so accepting of something like this. Of his relationship being on display, of sponsorships being behind personal posts, of not being able to put away photos that bring him bad memories.

“You’re really kind, Riddle,” Cater says, his voice still quiet. “Anyway, now you know why I moved to Rose Kingdom.”

“Because of the break up?” Riddle asks.

“Because of the break up,” Cater affirms. “Or rather, that’s part of it.”

“There’s more?”

“Well, you see, I was living with him,” Cater explains. “And breaking up with him meant going back home to my family. And the pressure from them to get a so-called real job was a lot.”

This is something Riddle can empathize with. After all, his mother is still disappointed in him in choosing to be a vet. His mother, still wanting him to be a real doctor. He’s learning to slowly tune it out, but it’s not easy. After all, he spent all of his childhood waiting on his mother’s approval. That’s not something he can shake off easily even though he logically knows his veterinary practice is a success.

So he understands how it must be for Cater. All those voices, voices which defined his childhood, telling him his job isn’t real even when he’s doing well.

“I think I understand,” Riddle says. “It’s tough when your family members don’t approve of your job. Even though you’re doing well.”

“I am doing well,” Cater says with a small chuckle. “And, Riddle, so are you.”

“It isn’t about me right now,” Riddle insists.

“But I know you would understand,” Cater says.

Riddle goes quiet for a moment. He takes a deep breath before answering: “I do.”

Cater laughs once more. His laughter is still sad, still so uncharacteristic of him. A laughter that seems forced from his lungs.

“Anyway,” Cater says, trying to sound cheerful. “I shouldn’t keep you from cyberstalking my Magicame.”

This makes Riddle blush.

“I’m not cyberstalking,” he objects.

“You’re just checking me out,” Cater teases.

Riddle wants to talk to Cater more. He likes the cheerful Cater, but he also likes this other side of Cater. The one who’s genuine, the one who’s sad over things that aren’t visible on the Magicame account that seemingly accounts for his entire life.

But that’s not a side of himself that Cater likes exposing very much, and Riddle knows that.

Even if it’s a side that makes him feel closer to Cater. A side that makes him feel that Cater is all the more real.

“Well,” Riddle says softly, hiding his disappointment that their talk is being cut short. “Goodnight, Cater.”

“Goodnight, Riddle,” Cater says cheerfully.

He hears the line cut off. Then, he places his phone on his end table as he slumps back down on his bed. 

So Cater moved to Rose Kingdom because of a break up and because of his family. Riddle has to wonder if Cater talked about this to Trey too, or did he just continue to keep up that cheerful persona to Trey. Trey is supposedly Cater’s best friend, Riddle knows this. So can Cater be that honest with Trey? Can they talk the night away, with Cater exposing all his insecurities?

Riddle is glad, at least, that Cater is willing to show some of that to him. He finds that he doesn’t mind that side of Cater at all. In fact, he’s glad that Cater could tell him about his ex and his family. It makes him feel like he’s truly a friend to Cater.

He feels his eyelids getting heavier. It is late, and he has work tomorrow. He has to clear his mind of Cater, he tells himself.

But he’s not quite successful, falling asleep to the memory of Cater’s sad laughter over the phone just minutes earlier.

“Ace!”

The familiar voice rings out through their veterinary practice.

It has been a week since Riddle’s phone conversation with Cater. A week which they spent texting about nothing in particular, Cater sending pictures from all his outings to Riddle. None of the pictures Cater sent to Riddle made it onto Magicame, and Riddle realized quickly that these pictures were meant for him.

And now, Cater shows up at the veterinary practice, bringing a cake box with him. He seems to time it for when they’d be free, as it’s getting near to their closing time now.

Riddle steps out of his practice room. He wonders if he’s imagining it, but he feels like he can see Cater light up as he sees him.

“Riddle!” he calls out in his usual cheerful tone.

“Hi, Cater,” Riddle greets him back.

“Are you guys almost done here?” Cater asks. “Let’s go for dinner together.”

“I’ll have to say ‘no’,” Ace says. “I promised my housemate I’ll help out with this project he has.”

“That’s too bad,” Cater frowned. “How about you Riddle? Up for another round at that diner?”

“That diner?” Riddle asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I had a fancy meal for lunch,” Cater explains. That is no doubt for his work. “So I want something greasy and filling for dinner.”

“Alright,” Riddle smiles softly. “Let’s go for the diner, then.”

“Is this a place you two went to together or something?” Ace questions. But he shakes his head, deciding quickly that it doesn’t matter. “Well, I’ll wait for pictures on Cater’s Magicame.”

“Not exactly a Magicame material kind of place,” Cater laughs. “I’ll message you with a picture of the food, though. It’s really greasy and really filling.”

Cater waits for them at the reception area as Riddle and Ace close up shop. It doesn’t take them long with no last-minute pet parents rushing in, so they’re able to leave promptly. The two of them make their way to the diner Cater mentioned, finding themselves a semi-circular booth to sit at.

The diner is more crowded that day than when Cater and Riddle went after the croquet match, but it could be because they just about caught the dinner crowd with their timing this time.

Riddle looks around them. A diner like this truly gets all sorts of people coming in for a meal. It’s easy to see businessmen coming in after work with their co-workers, old couples

“Hey,” Cater says. “Want to play a game?”

“Oh?” Riddle tilts his head to the side. “What kind of game?”

“The way you say that,” Cater chuckles. “It’s like you’re ready to beat me no matter what it is! But this isn’t really a game with any winner.”

“And is it any fun like that?” Riddle teases Cater. He knows he’s competitive, and it’s a side of himself he does not mind making a little joke about.

“I promise, it’s fun,” Cater grins. “See, it’s called ‘what’s the story’. We look at the people around this diner and make up their stories.”

“And the loser is the one who can’t come up with the next line?”

“Oh, you want to go with that?” Cater says with an amused laugh. “Okay, we can go with that.”

Before they can start their game, their food is served in front of them, allowing them to slowly eat it as they play. 

“So, that group of businessmen,” Cater says. “That one with the short hair doesn’t actually want to be here, but he’s forced to come because of everyone else.”

“The one next to him is counting his calories,” Riddle continues on. “That’s why he only ordered a salad.”

“They’re awkward around each other,” Cater comes up with his reply quickly. “Because they like the same girl in their office, the receptionist.”

“Unknown to both of them, the receptionist is sleeping with their boss,” Riddle counters. “She’s in it for the handbags and jewellery.”

“A gold digger?” Cater chuckles, amused. He picks up one of his fries and chucks it into his mouth before continuing. “The boss is a married woman, but her husband is not as attractive as the receptionist.”

“The receptionist knows she’s attractive,” Riddle nods. “So why not go for someone who can give her what she wants in life.”

“I respect the hustle,” Cater laughs, loud enough that the businessmen look at them. He then calms himself down and speaks in a quieter voice. “But hey, we’re getting distracted from the businessmen!”

“You’re right,” Riddle nods, he can feel himself smiling at the game. “Tie?”

“Tie,” Cater agrees. “You pick the next person.”

“Hm,” Riddle muses. He looks around the diner to pick out a couple of girls. They’re sharing a milkshake, which makes Riddle wonders if they’re a couple. “Those two?”

“Out on a date,” Cater quickly decides. “The black-haired one picked out this place.”

“Her blonde companion wants somewhere more,” Riddle pauses to think. He looks at the blonde girl, fiddling with her phone. Then, he nods, knowing what he’s about to say. “Somewhere more Magicame worthy.”

“The black-haired one doesn’t care about Magicame,” Cater says. “She thinks it’s weird.”

“This is a point of tension between them,” Riddle muses, he’s saying all this smoothly. “The blonde girl works as an influencer, so she has to be on Magicame.”

“The black-haired girl thinks the blonde girl can do so much more,” Cater’s response is just as fast and smooth as Riddle’s. They’re both really getting into this particular game, and to be able to observe the two girls better, they have both inched closer to the center of the semi-circular seat they’re sitting on. 

“The blonde isn’t very confident about that,” Riddle responds. “She feels like her Magicame life is all she has.”

“But the black-haired girl,” Cater starts. He pauses. 

Then, in this quiet moment, Cater and Riddle are looking at each other. They’re close, so close that Riddle could see himself reflected in Cater’s eyes. His heart feels like it’s beating faster under Cater’s gaze. And when Cater leans in gradually, Riddle feels his face flush.

This is a familiar sensation, something within him screams. 

This is like how it was, over a decade ago.

Instinctively, Riddle moves back. Cater’s eyes widen in surprise at Riddle’s sudden movement, or perhaps, as he realizes what he’s doing. He pulls himself back up, shifting away from Riddle on the semicircular seat.

“Cater,” Riddle calls to him quietly. Should he apologize for moving away? For ruining a moment? Riddle does not know. He does not know how to continue his sentence as he looks at Cater. Cater, who’s now looking away from him.

“Looks like I lost,” Cater finally says. He turns out, flashing Riddle a smile. “Dinner’s on me.”

“Cater,” Riddle says, his hands reaching out towards the other man.

But he can’t bring himself to touch Cater. He can’t bring himself to say anything more to Cater. He nods quietly, picking up his fork to eat the food in front of him.

“Mm,” Cater hums. “The food here is so good.”

Again, Cater is acting like nothing happened between them. 

There’s nothing more he can say, Riddle realizes. Not now. 

Not with his heart still beating fast, his face still flushed.

And his memories of that night, all those years ago, being far too clear in his mind.

“Riddle, thanks for today,” the text from Cater reads. Following it is a selfie of Cater, smiling while flashing a peace sign at the camera.

This is Cater, wanting everything to be alright between them.

And now that Riddle is calm in the quiet of his room, he knows that he wants everything to be alright between him and Cater. They’re friends, Riddle reminds himself, they will be friends.

He texts back with a ‘see you soon’.

“Charades?”

Riddle raises his eyebrows at the suggestion. They’re hanging out at Trey’s place, something that has turned into the norm for them. Trey’s place, after all, is where two of their group live. Furthermore, it’s near the station and on a major road, meaning they can hang out until late and Ace and Deuce would still be able to get the train back to their respective flats. It’s also walking distance from Riddle’s place. A rather far walking distance, but one that Riddle does not mind, especially not on cool, refreshing nights.

“Yes, charades,” Deuce says with a nod. He lifts up his smartphone. “You can get some prompts online these days, so we won’t need the cards.”

“That sounds fun,” Trey says. “What else would we be doing anyway?”

“Eating cakes,” Riddle huffs. But to tell the truth, he’s not exactly against a game of charades. It has been a while since they last played party games like charades. In fact, it feels like the last time they did so was back when they were still in Night Raven College.

When they hang out, they mostly eat, chat about nothing and drink. Which in itself is not bad. Riddle has enjoyed exactly that with his friends in the past few weeks after all. But something different would be interesting.

“It’ll be fun,” Cater says. “But we have five people, we can’t split into even teams.”

“I’ll be the judge,” Riddle offers. That’s a role he’s familiar with anyway, and one he doesn’t mind playing. Besides, he knows full well how competitive he is and how he would not be able to hold that back.

“You’re always the judge,” Ace interjects. “You should get to play.”

“But,” Riddle starts, then his voice goes quiet as he continues. “You guys know how I get.”

“We know how much you hate to lose,” Trey laughs. “But that ups the tension of the game.”

“We should take bets for what the loser should do,” Deuce suggests with a grin. “How about doing that one viral dance and posting it on Magicame?”

“What viral dance?” Riddle asks.

“You’ll see at the end,” Deuce says. He knows Riddle wouldn’t know what he’s talking about. After all, Riddle is really not well-versed when it comes to social media. With the way the rest of the room looks, though, with huge grins on their faces, Riddle could guess it’s probably something funny or even a little embarrassing.

“Let’s toss a coin to decide the teams,” Cater says. He takes out four gold coins, handing them to each player. It takes them a few tosses, but in the end the teams are split into Deuce with Trey and Riddle with Cater.

Riddle and Cater had been able to put the almost-kiss behind them these past few weeks, hanging out with each other as friends. Cater would even text Riddle every now and then, continuing to show him photos that he chose not to post on his Magicame. Riddle appreciates this. No one wants things to be awkward between the two of them, least of all Riddle himself.

“We better win,” he tells Cater firmly.

This brings out light laughter from Cater.

“I knew you’d say that,” Cater says.

They play scissors-paper-stone to see which team gets to go first. Deuce wins this scissors-paper-stone match against Riddle, meaning Deuce and Trey go first.

Riddle sits on the sofa as he observes the game playing out in front of him.

“You look so serious,” Cater says. “There’s nothing you can do when the other team is playing.”

“We can learn from their pitfalls,” Riddle insists.

And indeed, Deuce and Trey have many pitfalls. Deuce would act things out in a way that doesn’t quite make sense to anyone, including to Trey himself. As such, they keep running out of time, Trey wasting it on wild guesses.

“Last one!” Ace announces. He shows the smartphone screen to Deuce and Duece begins flailing his arms wildly.

“Deuce is not very good at this,” Cater laughs.

“He really isn’t,” Riddle agrees, his lips curling into a schadenfreude kind of arrogant smile. “Even though he’s the one who suggested we play this game.”

Trey fails to guess the last card, giving the Trey and Deuce team exactly two points.

“If we lose to this,” Riddle says in a purposely threatening voice. “I’m not going to forgive you.”

“We won’t, we won’t,” Cater assures Riddle. “I don’t think either of us is as bad as Deuce.”

“I heard that!” Deuce objects, but he sighs exasperatedly anyway, knowing that to be true. He is definitely not good at this game.

“Okay, I’ll be the one acting,” Cater says.

Riddle readies himself for whatever Cater is going to throw at him. He watches keenly as Cater sees the prompt on the phone Ace is holding.

“Ready,” Ace announces, drawing out the word. “Go!”

Cater begins with a freestyle swimming motion.

“Swimming!” Riddle guesses right away.

Then, Cater uses his hands to emulate a fin motion.

“Fish!”

Cater then places his palm over his eyes, observing around the room.

“Swimming, fish, looking... no, not looking,” Riddle mutters his guesses aloud. “Seeing. The word is ‘sea’!”

“Bingo!” Cater exclaims happily. Ace, as the judge, nods, affirming that Riddle has gotten the word correct.

“Next word,” Ace announces, showing the word to Cater.

This time, Cater makes an invisible heart with his two fingers. Then, to be sure, he makes a heart shape using his palm and makes it beat against his chest.

“Heart?” Riddle guesses, but Cater shakes his head. “Love!”

“Yes!”

“Isn’t this too easy?” Deuce complains. “Ace, you’re not rigging the game, are you?”

“I didn’t place a bet, why would I rig the game?” Ace huffs. “I’m an impartial judge, okay? And you’re the one who found this website with the prompts.”

“True,” Deuce grumbles.

“Just admit you’re bad at charades, Deuce,” Cater laughs. “Okay, next!”

Riddle is able to guess the next one with ease, as with the next. Cater is able to act things out clearly and in a way that Riddle is able to understand. He understands how to lead Riddle to guess certain things.

“I want a perfect game,” Riddle announces right after guessing another action correctly. “It’s not enough to just win, we have to destroy them.”

“Destroy us?!” Deuce exclaims. “You already did, though?!”

“Completely destroy them,” Riddle pushes.

“Riddle,” Cater chuckles while shaking his head. “You really have no mercy.”

“Alright, this is the last one,” Ace announces. He shows the screen to Cater.

Cater then enacts scratching motion with his hands.

“Scratch? Something related to an animal?”

Cater then does a cute cat paw motion with his hands.

“Cat?”

Again, Cater nods. Then, he stands straight up, his arms straight against his body and his legs pressed together.

“Pole... Ah!” Riddle exclaims, knowing exactly what Cater means. “Scratching post!”

“Yes!” Cater exclaims.

“Perfect game!” Riddle says back, unable to contain his excitement. He and Cater end up coming close to one another, fitting into a hug. Riddle rests his head against Cater’s shoulder as Cater holds him tight.

Then, Cater’s laugh in his ear makes Riddle realize how close they are. Shyly, he draws away from Cater. He brushes a strand of his own hair behind his ears, feeling his face flush red from how close he was to Cater just moments before.

But Cater is smiling right at him.

“We did it,” Cater says cheerfully. “We got the perfect game.”

“Yes,” Riddle says with a smile. “We did it. We destroyed them.”

“Alright, alright,” Trey laughs. “So looks like Deuce and I have to do that viral dance.”

Cater whistles at this, readying his smartphone. 

“You’ll want to record this, Riddle, I promise!”

Riddle laughs, readying his smartphone as well.

“Riddle, are you going home?” Cater asks as Riddle puts his coat back on. “It’s late, let me walk you home.”

“If you walk me home, you’d have to walk back here at an even later time,” Riddle points out to Cater. But then he sees something in Cater’s expression. Something serious and not quite like Cater. Perhaps he has something that he wants to talk to Riddle about. With this, Riddle sighs. “Well, I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Cater’s expression brightens up as Riddle says this. He goes to his bedroom, picking up his light coat.

“You’re walking Riddle home?” Trey asks. “Stay safe.”

“Of course,” Cater grins, flashing Trey a peace sign.

The two of them make their way out the back door of Trey’s house, finding their way to the main road.

“Ah, it is a nice night to go for a walk,” Cater says as he stretches his arms up above his head. “I love this time of the year.”

“Me too,” Riddle agrees. 

“So that game today was fun,” Cater says. “We totally vibed.”

“Vibed?” Riddle tilts his head to the side. 

“Like,” Cater starts, then he goes quiet for a moment. The word might be alien to Riddle, but it must be something that Cater uses regularly to the point that he has to think of a way to define it to someone who’s not as literate with trendy words. “Like we’re on the same wavelength.”

Riddle chuckles in response.

It is true that they were able to work together to win that perfect game of charades. Riddle is still happy about that victory, his chest feeling light and fluttery.

“I like winning,” Riddle says.

“I know you do.”

There has to be something else that Cater wants to talk about with Riddle. But they spend their entire journey to Riddle’s place in casual conversation. As they draw close to the entrance of Riddle’s flat, Cater stops.

“Riddle,” he says, this time soft and serious, contrary to how he was for their entire walk. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Riddle tilts his head to the side. “For what?”

“I shouldn’t have hugged you,” Cater says with a sad smile. “I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you that night in the diner either.”

“Oh,” Riddle lets out a quiet sound. “Don’t worry about it.”

“The truth is, I’ve something to say to you,” Cater says. This is just as Riddle had guessed. “It’s about ten years ago, on the night before my graduation.”

Riddle stiffens at this.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Riddle mutters, feeling his words slur against each other as he speaks quickly.

“Please,” Cater pleads. “Let me say something about it.”

Riddle goes quiet. Then, slowly, he nods.

“Let’s go inside,” Riddle says. “I’ll make you some tea.”

“Riddle, pouring tea for me,” Cater says with an amused smile. “I guess I have to take this opportunity.”

They walk inside Riddle’s flat, and as soon as Cater enters, Amadeus meows in displeasure before choosing to hide under the sofa. With Cater with him, Riddle suddenly feels how bare his apartment is. Aside from Amadeus’ things, his furniture is plain and bought from the chain furniture store just outside of town.

“Take a seat,” Riddle gestures to the sofa. He feels thankful to his past self who cleans his apartment regularly so that the underused sofa isn’t filled with dust and cat hair. Then, after gesturing Cater towards the sofa, he prepares some decaf tea for the both of them.

He takes a seat next to Cater, placing two large mugs of hot tea on the coffee table in front of them.

“I don’t have guests often,” Riddle confesses.

“Yet you keep your place so clean,” Cater says. “As expected of our former dorm head.”

“Cleanliness is godliness,” Riddle shrugs. He takes his tea and takes a sip from it. 

To tell the truth, he’s nervous regarding what Cater would like to say to him about ten years ago. They talked about it the day Cater moved to Rose Kingdom, and should that not be enough? Riddle received his apology and they have been friends ever since.

“Where should I start,” Cater laughs quietly, a sad, forced laugh that does not help in making the atmosphere anymore cheerful. “It’s just that, I wasn’t entirely honest at the time.”

Riddle feels his hands shake around his mug of tea. He places the mug on the table so that he doesn’t accidentally spill tea everywhere as he waits for Cater to continue.

“Remember I told you it was a joke?” Cater asks. “A dare.”

“I remember,” Riddle mutters back.

He can never forget. Even the mention of it reminds him how painful his chest felt during the graduation ceremony when Cater told him that.

“That’s not quite the truth,” Cater says.

Riddle turns to see Cater. Unlike his usual cheerful disposition, Cater is serious this time. The smile on his face is wry, but genuine all the same.

“See, Riddle,” Cater says softly. “Years later, I still think about you. About that night.”

“Cater, what do you--”

Before Riddle could finish his sentence, Cater leans in. Riddle does not have time to process anything when he feels Cater’s lips against his own, warm and soft and everything he remembers it to be. It’s so familiar, like the kiss that haunted Riddle over the past ten years is taking new life.

And somehow, it feels like it is meant to be. 

Riddle leans into the kiss instead of pushing away. He revels in it, wanting more of Cater’s lips against his own.

When they part, looking for air, Riddle looks straight into Cater’s eyes, and Cater looks right back at him. Cater, with a soft, genuine smile. Cater, who’s right here with him. A kiss that happened just now and not ten years ago.

“Riddle,” Cater says softly. “If you’re-”

This time, it is Riddle who doesn’t let Cater finish his sentence. He closes the gap between them to take another kiss from Cater’s lips. He wants more, he realizes. He needs more of Cater. And when Cater presses his tongue between Riddle’s lips, Riddle lets his lips part. Riddle lets Cater deepen their kiss into something more thirsty and desperate.

These are kisses that had been held back from them for ten years. Kisses they should’ve shared much earlier. Kisses Riddle did not know, prior to this moment, how much he wanted.

Soon, Riddle falls back onto the couch. Cater is over him, kissing him again and again. Cater is with him, and that all that matters to Riddle. 

He feels Cater’s hands move up his shirt, and it feels like his skin can breathe for the first time under Cater’s touch. His heart is beating fast, his body is flushed, pink, perhaps, or red, but Riddle does not care as long as he can continue to have Cater’s kisses on his lips and Cater’s hands on his body.

“Riddle,” Cater says softly. “Is this alright?”

“It is,” Riddle whispers back. “It’s more than alright.”

Cater moves to kiss Riddle again. Cater’s hands move to explore Riddle’s body.

And everything feels perfect, even for tonight.

Oh please, Riddle finds himself hoping, praying to some unknown god, make it so that it’s not just for tonight.

Riddle wakes up to an empty bed, and the first thing he feels is disappointment. Disappointment that Cater did not stay the night. Disappointment that the night seems to feel so much like a dream. But the bed by Riddle’s side is still warm. It still smells so distinctively of Cater that Riddle knows that it wasn’t a dream after all. 

Still, it would be nice to wake up to Cater by his side. It would be nice to truly talk about what happened last night and where they will go from here.

Riddle looks towards his window, the sun just about rising on the horizon. Then, he picks up his phone to check the exact time. Six-thirty, the phone reads, together with messages from Cater. 

Riddle swipes his phone to unlock it, immediately opening the message from Cater.

Thank you for last night, the message reads. I’ll see you again soon.

Riddle smiles. Again with the ‘soon’. Again, giving Riddle something to look forward to in the coming days.

He gets up from his bed, feeling like he’s walking on clouds as he gets ready for work.

‘Soon’, thankfully, happens to be that afternoon.

Cater arrives at the vet, bringing a box of cakes. 

“These are from Trey’s,” he explains to Ace, his cheery voice wafting over from the reception room and into the practice room where Riddle is taking a look at a hedgehog. “Share them with Riddle, okay?”

Riddle tries to block out Cater’s voice, concentrating on his job in front of him.

“Your hedgehog is fine,” Riddle reports to the worried pet parent. “He’s just a little fatigued. I’ll assign some vitamins to him.”

“Would that help?” the hedgehog’s owner asks.

“It should, and if it doesn’t, bring him back in a week.”

“Thank you, doctor,” she says. She then takes the receipt from Riddle, bringing the hedgehog outside. Riddle follows her out, meeting Cater at the reception area.

“Riddle!” Cater exclaims. But this Cater is different from the Cater from last night. This is the usual Cater - with the large smile, worthy for a Magicame picture at any time. He walks over, and for a second Riddle wonders if he’s going to kiss him. Riddle’s heart beats fast, anticipating this. But instead, he pats Riddle on the shoulder. “I’ve brought cakes from Trey! Make sure you eat them before they go bad!”

“Cater,” Riddle starts. But he finds himself at a loss for words. What about last night? He wants to ask. What are we?

But Cater instead, talks about something completely different.

“So,” Cater says, in that cheery voice that is starting to annoy Riddle now. “I’m thinking of doing this super awesome bar crawl. We’ll do it when you two have a night off, what do you think?”

A bar crawl. That’s what Cater wants to talk about. 

Did last night not mean as much to Cater as it did to Riddle? Because at least to Riddle, last night was the only thing he could think of all day. Last night, which made him happy and anxious to see Cater again.

But Cater could think of a bar crawl.

Cater could think of them just as friends.

“Well,” Riddle says softly, trying to hide his disappointment. “Perhaps not on a work night.”

“You guys close on Wednesday, right?” Cater grins. “We can go on Tuesday night. Even though Deuce and Trey might have work the next day.”

“Tuesday night is good with me,” Ace replies. “Maybe next Tuesday?”

“The sooner the better, right?” Cater nods vigorously. “What do you think, Riddle?”

“Ah,” Riddle starts, but he goes quiet. Maybe Cater just does not want to talk about it in front of Ace, he tries to reason with himself. Maybe Cater wants it to be private. Yet Cater is someone who puts his entire life for the internet to see. Cater is someone who’s not embarrassed to dance to a jukebox at a bar. Cater is someone who should be open.

So why would he treat Riddle, now, like nothing had happened.

Riddle feels all his words stick in his throat, until all he can manage is a nod.

“Great!” Cater exclaims. “I’ll see you guys next week, on Tuesday!”

Is that what Cater meant by ‘soon’ in his text this morning? A bar crawl?

Riddle can’t help but have all these negative thoughts swirling inside his mind. Riddle can’t help but feel disappointed. He can’t help but wonder: did he read everything all wrong? Did he expect too much?

“Boss,” Ace calls out to him. “What happened between you and Cater?”

So Ace could read Riddle’s mood. So Ace could ask him. But Cater left without asking Riddle anything. They can even talk in the practice room if what he wants is privacy.

“It’s nothing,” Riddle says, the coolness of his voice obvious even to himself. “Get back to work.”

Ace smiles wryly, but he knows when to not push things with Riddle. 

He winces, however, when Riddle slams the door to his practice room.

The feeling of walking on clouds has disappeared, replaced by a sinking feeling that Riddle does not like. A sinking feeling that leaves him breathless in all the wrong ways.

"Looking forward to the bar crawl!"

That’s the message that Cater finally sent to Riddle that night, together with a picture of himself and a stack of beer.

"Pre-crawl drinks!"

Riddle looks at the picture, his thumbs hovering over his keyboard. He wonders what Cater wants him to reply with. Maybe, Cater wants it to be the same between them. Maybe, this text and picture is meant to show Riddle he doesn’t want things to be awkward between them. That he wants to be friends.

Riddle isn’t sure if he could be entirely okay with that.

He likes Cater. He’s always liked Cater, even back in Night Raven College. And part of him liking Cater is liking this cheerful Cater, strong despite anything that might come his way. He finds Cater’s ability to be good to everyone admirable, because that’s not something that comes naturally to himself. He finds Cater’s cheerfulness, despite any difficulties he might face, amazing.

But there’s more to Cater than that cheerful front. There’s the Cater who would eat less than aesthetically pleasing food, not posting it on his magicame because it doesn’t quite fit. There’s the Cater who would be serious when he has to be. The Cater who, just a few weeks ago, called Riddle over the phone to talk about the less than beautiful parts of his life.

Riddle likes all of Cater, even these sides Cater seems to hide from others. Yet Cater is not letting this side out around Riddle. Even after they kissed, even after they slept together, all things Riddle thinks are important. 

Cater is still putting him at an arm’s length away.

And Riddle is realizing a very simple fact: he does not want that.

He puts his phone to sleep without replying to Cater, curling into his bed.

His bed still smells like Cater from last night. Cater, who at that time, felt so whole and real and entirely his.

“If Cater comes by,” Riddle tells Ace with a grave expression on his face. “Tell him I’m not in.”

Ace glances back at the practice room. Because of the layout of their veterinary practice, it’s possible to see through the half-glass walls of the practice room from the reception area. Realizing this, Riddle blushes a little.

“I will duck,” he adds.

“Boss,” Ace sighs. “Seriously, what happened between you and Cater? You didn’t even come to the bar crawl last week.”

“Things happened, Ace,” Riddle says firmly. “And I don’t have to talk to you about it.”

“It’s just, things were going so well,” Ace doesn’t stop himself from whining. Honestly, Riddle could see where Ace is coming from. It must’ve been difficult being friends with two people who aren’t talking, and they already experienced that for ten years prior to now. 

Riddle looks around the veterinary practice, seeing that they don’t have any patients. Perhaps, he can tell Ace. People say unloading what’s in your chest can help with feelings. Even if Riddle has no experience in this when it comes to Cater, he has to admit the moments he let go and get angry would often be followed by a sense of relief.

“You can’t tell what I’m about to tell you to others,” Riddle warns Ace. “Not even to Trey.”

“Oh,” Ace lets out, then, he does a zipping movement over his lips. “My lips are sealed.”

Riddle takes a deep breath as he readies himself to say what he has to say. He lets out a guttural noise first, not quite finding his words. Then, slowly, he lets out a heavy sigh.

“I,” he starts carefully. “Slept with Cater.”

Ace raises an eyebrow.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Ace asks.

“What makes you say that?”

“You like him, don’t you?” Ace says. Riddle sometimes forgets how sharp Ace can be, a keen mind behind that silly grin. “Ever since our time at Night Raven College.”

“I,” Riddle starts again, but quickly shakes his head, realizing there’s no use lying to Ace. “I do like him.”

He admits it, and hearing the words aloud is making him regret talking to Ace at all. He isn’t sure, now that he says it, that he’s ready for all the weight those few words carry. He isn’t sure if he’s ready to truly like Cater.

“So?”

“He acted like nothing is different,” Riddle tells Ace quietly. “Like we’re just friends.”

Ace takes in Riddle’s words, seemingly deep in thought. Then, he nods.

“That is tough,” he admits. “When did you sleep with him?”

“Around two weeks ago,” Riddle says. “After charades.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to tell that from how Cater has been acting since,” Ace says honestly, and it’s an honesty that Riddle appreciates. “He’s silly, sometimes.”

“A lot of the time,” Riddle complains with another heavy sigh.

“A lot of the time,” Ace agrees. “But that’s good of him too.”

“I just want things to be more than that,” Riddle confesses, and sure enough, saying that lifts the weight from his chest. “I want to know who he really is.”

“And that silly part is part of that,” Ace points out with a wry smile. “But I get it, I do.”

“So,” Riddle says. “Can you tell him I’m not here if he comes looking for me?”

Again, Ace looks at the half-glass walls of the practice room.

“Do you think that’s realistic?”

Riddle huffs as he crosses his arms, bringing out laughter from Ace.

“I’ll try, I’ll try,” Ace says. “But, really, I want you two to sort this out.”

Riddle glares at Ace, but even as he’s avoiding Cater’s many texts, even as he’s avoiding Cater in his own workplace, Riddle knows that’s what he’d like as well.

“Riddle.”

Riddle didn’t expect Cater in front of his flat. He’s trying to avoid Cater and now Cater is right in front of him.

“What are you doing here?” Riddle asks, trying to keep his voice from trembling. Trying to sound cold and unaffected. Cater is looking at him with a wry smile on his face, his eyes downcast. He wonders what Cater is doing here. He wonders what Cater is about to say to him.

“Ace told me you’re not happy with me,” Cater starts. Ace. Of course it was Ace. Part of Riddle curses his past self who decided to confide in Ace, even if he did feel relief from talking about his problems with his receptionist and old friend. “Well, I should’ve known that with how you’ve been ignoring me.”

Riddle says nothing, watching Cater carefully for what Cater is about to say next. Cater laughs softly.

“Look,” Cater says. “Whatever it is, I’m sorry.”

Whatever it is? Riddle feels anger welling up from inside of him at that apology. But he tries to keep it under control. He tries to remain calm.

“So you don’t know,” Riddle says, his voice trembling from his suppressed anger. “You don’t know what you did wrong?”

“I don’t,” Cater says, and even through his veil of anger Riddle can see how earnest Cater is about this. Cater genuinely doesn’t know why Riddle is angry. And frankly, that’s even more difficult for Riddle to take. He wants to think that Cater is able to understand him, but it seems now that Cater does not.

“Look,” Riddle says. “I’m tired, Cater.”

“Tired?”

“We’re always almost,” Riddle speaks quickly, feeling his own nose flare as he does so. “A kiss, but it was a joke. Then we slept together and you acted like nothing happened.”

“That’s,” Cater starts with his eyes wide. He seems so genuinely surprised at Riddle’s words. So genuinely at loss for what he can say to Riddle. He trails off to silence.

They stand still, facing each other but eyes not quite meeting. Riddle is looking at Cater, he is, but it’s Cater who looks like he can’t quite face Riddle. It’s Cater who seems confused, lost, and Riddle does not know how to get to him. Especially not now in his anger.

“Riddle,” Cater says softly, his gaze still away from Riddle’s. “Do you not like how I usually am?”

“If you mean your cheerful self,” Riddle says, his voice now barely louder than a whisper. “I do. I’ve always admired how you could stay cheerful through everything. I’ve always looked up at your ability to bring people together. Your cheerful self made me realize how you brought Heartslabyul together before me.”

“Then,” Cater says with a forced smile. Words seem to get stuck on his throat before he looks up to Riddle and says a single one: “why?”

Riddle moves over to his door, causing Cater to step back. Then, he unlocks his own door. 

“Because,” Riddle says, the pain in his voice is obvious even to himself. “You’re more than that.”

With that, he opens his door, shutting it between himself and Cater.

He has his back against his door, sliding down to the floor. Amadeus comes close to him as he exhales sharply.

He scratches the back of his cat’s ear affectionately.

“I wonder if he’ll get it,” he mutters, but in human language so that Amadeus does not understand him. “I wonder if we can move forward from here.”

He buries his head in his knees, wondering if he’s done the right thing.

Riddle opens his door to leave for work that morning when he sees a figure curled by the side of the door. As soon as he opens the door, the figure lifts his head up to face Riddle with a tired grin.

“Cater?” Riddle mutters incredulously. “Did you stay out here all night?”

“I did,” Cater says softly, his voice slightly shivering. No doubt, he’s been cold throughout the night. “I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“Idiot,” Riddle huffs. “You can think about it in your own house.”

Cater stands up. He looks right at Riddle with a soft smile.

“But I want to show you,” Cater says quietly.

“Show me what? You with a cold?” Riddle scolds.

“That I’m serious,” Cater says firmly. “That I can be serious.”

Riddle finds himself silenced by those firm words. He finds his hands shaking, ever so slightly. He finds himself in disbelief that Cater would be right in front of him saying this. A part of him wonders if this is a dream, but the cool air of the morning brushing against his cheeks reminds him that this is real.

“Come on in,” he finally manages to say. “I’ll make you some hot tea.”

Cater follows him inside the apartment. Riddle ignores Amadeus’ displeased meow as he brings Cater over to the kitchen. They’re quiet around each other as Riddle brews Cater’s tea then serves it to Cater in a large mug.

“Thank you,” Cater says as he takes the mug. He takes a sip, his body seemingly relaxing as he does so.

“You’re so silly,” Riddle says, but he can’t help but to be rather fond of this Cater. This Cater, who just did something absolutely stupid for Riddle’s sake and Riddle’s sake alone. 

“Do you like that?” Cater asks with a mischievous grin.

“I like you for everything,” Riddle says frankly. “For more than who you are on social media. For more than your parties and plans.”

“See,” Cater says, his grin softening into a smile. “I’m not used to that. I never know what to do with myself whenever I have to be more.”

“But you were able to be honest with me during that phone call,” Riddle points out. “You were honest with me during that night we slept together.”

“And the next day, I panic, wondering if you hate me for it,” Cater laughs sadly. “I’m so used to being who I have to be. The cheerful, magicame star.”

“You know I don’t care about that,” Riddle huffs, crossing his arms. “I don’t want to be another front in your life.”

Cater seems to take his time taking in Riddle’s words. He drinks his tea quietly, his expression looking as if he’s deep in thought.

“So you were angry at me because I acted the same despite what happened between us?”

“Exactly,” Riddle affirms. “I wanted to talk to you properly. But I felt like you didn’t want to.”

Again, Cater laughs sadly.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “That’s new to me. That’s not something I’m used to.”

“I’ll accept all of you,” Riddle says. “The sides you don’t show on magicame. The sides you don’t even show to your friends. Because.”

Now it’s Riddle’s turn to fall silent. He looks at Cater quietly, finding his lips curl into a wry smile. He looks at Cater, feeling nothing but affection for the person in front of him. Knowing what he should’ve known for the longest while.

“Because?” Cater asks.

“Because I like you,” Riddle says carefully. “I always had.”

“Even back in Night Raven College?”

“Even back then,” Riddle nods.

“Then why did you run away when I kissed you?”

Riddle sighs, remembering his past folly.

“Because I was young,” Riddle admits. “Because I was nervous.”

“And then the next day I said it was a joke,” Cater smiles exasperatedly. “It feels like we wasted ten years.”

Slowly, Riddle reaches out to Cater’s hand across the counter from him.

“Can we start again, from the top?” he asks.

Cater smiles, a genuine, earnest smile, one which looks so beautiful against the morning light of Riddle’s kitchen. One which makes Riddle’s heart flutter all over again.

Cater leans in until his forehead touches Riddle’s.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”


End file.
